


Regrets

by badluckvixen13 (alteringviews)



Series: 1 Million for Black Hermione [18]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Black Hermione Granger, Developing Relationship, F/M, Past Relationship(s), Regret, The Author Regrets Nothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-10-03 00:48:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10231787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alteringviews/pseuds/badluckvixen13
Summary: There was once a time that Harry would have been happy to see her, really... and a part of him still really is... Several parts of him are happy to see her now. It's strange how someone regrets things only after they've thrown them away.





	1. Reunion

Harry thought he was a reasonable guy. He had a successful relationship with Ginny Weasley, was well respected, up for a promotion… 

He thought that his life was just fine…

And then Hermione showed up for the engagement party bearing wine, presents, and smiles. 

_ God, help him. _

“Congratulations!” Hermione said smiling brightly, he lips painted business red. She was still in her dress suit, so it was obvious that she’d come right after work. 

“Have they been keeping you at the office this late?” Ginny asked. 

She shrugged, “You know the Ministry always has a crisis. Where should I put these?”

“Oh, on the table. Please get something to eat.”

Hermione laughed and passed them, placing them on the table and Ginny squeezed his hand, “See. You were worried for nothing.”

Harry smiled tightly. In all honesty, it was never Hermione that he was worried about. He was worried about himself. 

They hadn’t exactly ended on the best terms with him… throwing a lot of rather harsh things at her before breaking up with her… Hermione had taken it with her head high and didn’t bother to cry. She’d walked back into her apartment when he'd bade her goodnight. 

But for the love of god, he couldn't get her out of his mind. He'd wake up panting and painfully hard with just the phantom memory of the scent of her body oils, the feeling of his hand in her hair…

It had been great for Ginny who always just assumed that he had a hell of a sex drive when, in reality, Hermione had trained him into it, sexed his brain beyond repair. 

She wasn't a beauty queen, but she was a sex goddess without equal. They'd spent a lot of hot and heavy nights tumbling in his king bed, or her California King, until they couldn't move and were just too sexed out to do anything more than cuddle.

He looked over to where she mingled and made a plate for herself, chatting with Ginny's friends from work and smiled.

He couldn't remember her ever being so friendly.

Not that she wasn't friendly, it was just that when they'd met she was the kind of girl that most didn't notice, curled up in her sweatpants and glasses. It had started out easy and before long he and Hermione were dating, sleeping together…

He'd loved her and he had a feeling that he always would.

After all, Ginny was pretty, beautiful...acceptable to everyone around him, the sister of his best friend…Ginny was the perfect puzzle piece to his life. It would secure him prestige and a future…

So why was he feeling so… empty about it?

He flinched seeing Ron approach her. She smiled and gave him a familiar hug. They knew each other well enough through Harry.

Maybe--

Harry heard himself laugh. Ron couldn't even hope to make Hermione happy in the long run. Ron was attached to his ego, Hermione was the kind to never bow down to anyone…

He watched her expression go cold and turned away, happy to let Ron skewer himself to get the door. Nearly everyone he'd invited had arrived, he thought all of Ginny's guests had to so who…

“Is Ginerva Weasley party, yes?”

Harry frowned as he was staring at the expanse of a t-shirt beneath a blazer. He tilted his head up towards the face that had spoken in such a heavy accent. The man in question was… not what he expected. A slightly hooked nose misaligned from one too many breaks, sharp angular features, dark eyes that were a little more than just intense.

“Uh… yeah...who are you exactly?”

Ginny definitely hadn't mentioned--

“Viktor, you made it?!” Ginny cheered, squealing to rush across the room and hug him tightly. “Oh, this is perfect, thank you so much for coming! I know how busy you are.”

He smiled lifting his box, “Is never too busy for friend. Important day for you and your love.”

Ginny flushed and took Harry’s hand, “This is my Harry. Harry Potter, this is the C.E.O. and President of the Durmstrang Institute.”

Harry gawked, but stammered and shook the man’s hand. Ginny had never mentioned that one of her bosses, the one she spent a lot of time with, had walked off a magazine cover. More importantly that he was just a few years older than them. 

“Is good to meet you, Harry,” he greeted. “Ginny say much about you. Hope to convince you not to shackle her at home. She is brilliant.”

“Yes, she is,” Harry said. “Please come in.”

He nodded and walked in. Ginny directed him towards the gift table and of course the food.

Harry watched them with interest, feeling something like wariness in his chest. Viktor very clearly cared for Ginny, but the nature of that care was something that he couldn't place.

“Ginny loves you,” her voice said behind him and he whirled to see Hermione smiling over the rim of her wine glass.

She kept a respectable distance as she leaned against a wall, not even glancing at Ginny and Viktor as they disappeared around a corner into another room of people.

“No need to fret, Harry,” she said. She turned then and headed towards the kitchen to grab a bit more food.

Harry swallowed, watching her go and then forcing his eyes to look at Ginny as she introduced him around.

Harry grabbed a beer and went off to make a proper appearance in the room. To his credit, he didn't hover, but mingled around and even managed to figure out what had transpired to put Ron in such a state.

“She shut me down,” he said. “Who does she think she is?”

Harry licked his lip, “The Secretary of Intelligence for the British Ministry of Defense.”

Ron’s jaw dropped and they looked over to Hermione who'd found her way towards Luna and Cormac’s neck of the woods. From what he remembered, Cormac and Luna had been dating for about three months and were incredibly happy. They looked like it too, even with Luna’s quirks. Hermione smiled and spoke conspiracy theories, politics, and magic as easily as policy and law, immediately earning their acceptance, just in time for Ginny to pull Viktor into the room.


	2. Speechless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why was she so beautiful?

Viktor was a sensible, well-established, powerful, businessman. He spoke with Ministry officials, leaders of countries, other businessmen and so much more while running the top medical research and development company in the world. He spoke ten languages with English being his weakest, and knew every gesture and custom from his homeland in Bulgaria to Alaska.

So, why was he so utterly speechless right now?

“Viktor, this is Hermione Granger.”

_ Hermione, _ he thought. Greek though there was more African in her features than Mediterranean, her hair a mess of curls and gorgeous. She looked at him with eyes so full of character and intelligence he knew he could spend every day speaking to her and never fully understand her.

She smiled with those glossy reddened lips and held out his and, “It's a pleasure to meet you, Viktor.”

“Pleasure is mine,  _ Hermione. _ ” 

To her credit, Hermione was a highly respected, very powerful, very cultured woman. She spoke with Ministry officials, leaders of countries, other businessmen and so much more while keeping their idiot of a Prime Minister from crashing the country into the ground. She had half of the Oxford library in her brain, the other half filled with calculation and analysis. She code in every programming language known to man. She spoke twelve languages with Tagalog being her weakest, and knew every gesture and custom from Egypt to Iceland. 

So, why was she so utterly speechless at the sound of her name on his lips.

It sounded like Greece and wonder all along her spine, in her hair and warm hands on her hips.

He damn sure didn't help that he was fucking beautiful.

“Viktor’s my boss and Hermione practically runs the government,” Ginny said, brightly. “I think that's everyone, I will release you now.”

Viktor spared her a smile, but kept his eyes on Hermione who didn't seem able to look away really.

“So,Viktor,” Hermione started. “How are you at weddings?”


	3. No Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No regrets... ever.

Ginny found Harry sitting in their shared bedroom in the dark. His head in his hands and silent.

“Harry? Are you alright?”

Harry lifted his head and turned to look at her. His green eyes were so bright in the dimness of the room...looking at her as if he'd never seen her before. Ginny met his eyes and swallowed thickly, tilting her head up.

“We do what we have to Harry,” Ginny told him. “You know that.”

Harry let out a breath and nodded, “I realize that.”

“We may not be… happy, but we won’t be miserable,” she said taking a seat with a sigh. “You’ll have everything you wanted, so what if you have to sacrifice a little for it?”

Harry nodded again, threading a hand through his hair, “I know.”

Ginny worried her lip seeing his expression and reached for the hem of his shirt to tug it open.

“Try not to think about it,” she said. “Sex can be taught, Harry.”

He nodded again and closed his eyes for a moment before reaching up to turn them over and tug her blouse off. Yes, sex can be taught…

And it was just the sex with Hermione wasn’t it? It wasn’t… 

Anything else--

_ Are you okay, Harry? _

_ Ambition is nothing without happiness… _

He leaned down to kiss Ginny, shoving the memories away. He was just a little fucked up because of the alcohol. He’d fuck Ginny tonight and the rest of his life, have the position he wanted to, be on the right track with everything he ever wanted, and be okay. 

It would all be okay.

*

Hermione woke up, naked in silk sheets that weren't her own, panting in something like terror.  She reached out to find the bed empty beside her and drew back, feeling only the cold sheets there.

_ Right… _ she reminded herself of what had happened to lead her here. The decisions she'd made and the actions that followed. 

_ Right… _

She'd gone out with Viktor, talked to him, texted, flirted, teased and found herself here months later. 

She swallowed, not really sure what time it was, but she got up, leaving the sheet behind and gathered her clothes. It feels hauntingly familiar as she began to put her clothes on. At least if she left now, she wouldn't have to be told to leave. Dismissed like a one night stand like she wasn't worth anything…

_ I can’t anymore, ‘Mione… I have to think about my career. _

She swallowed, slipped on her heels and lifted her head before marching out of the room and into the hallway. She isn't expecting him to be hanging from the pull-up bar on the entrance to the hallway, concentrating on holding himself aloft. She swallowed and smiled, sliding the mask into place.

“Is that for me?”

He tilted his head to see her, dark eyes looking at her and taking her in. She was dressed for some reason that he didn’t understand. He was under the impression that she had nowhere in particular to be today  _ and _ it was far too early to go anywhere.

“I promise I had no complaints in the muscle-bound hunk department.”

He lowered himself to the ground revealing the fact that he was still very much naked.

“Is...too late to drive,” he said. “Did not sleep long.”

Hermione smiled, “Is that your way of offering me a lift?”

Viktor walked towards her, prowling towards her, but she didn't step back.

“I… have frightened you?” Viktor asked, looking at her. “Was too much?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“You are running.”

She flinched and his eyes narrowed. He licked his lips and stepped forward, stalking her back into the bedroom until she fell back on the bed. He regarded her and reached for her feet, slipping them out of her heels. She remained still as he reached to pull her up against him and undressed her… His eyes never leaving hers as he did so. When she was naked, he slid her back under the sheets, pressed a kiss to her forehead and told her that he'd be back.

Hermione stared at the open door he'd walked through, not sure what had just happened. He returned with a glass of milk, a plate of cookies and an impressive erection before sliding into bed with her and smiling.

“I hear chocolate chip make everything better.” Hermione swallowed as he shrugged. “There is also sex if prefer.”

He swallowed, “And what is it… that you prefer?”

“That beautiful woman would stay,” Viktor said.

“In a mood for a second round?”

“And third, and fourth, but breakfast too.” Viktor regarded her, “As much as you wish.”

“No regrets?”

“I am not a man to regret,” Viktor said. “I ask for what I want… Am not like Potter.”

She blinked as he gave her a wry smile, “What do you mean?”

“He stare at you whole party… You seem uncomfortable, assume something happen.”

Hermione gave him a stiff smile and Viktor squeezed her hand, “Regret?”

“No,” she assured, taking his hand almost frantically. 

He wondered for a moment if she knew what she was doing, telling him reacting that way. Had she been in love with Harry? Had he broken her so much she hid behind her heels and wicked smile? He smiled gently and wrapped an arm around her to pull her close and feed her a cookie. 

“Are free this weekend?” Viktor asked. 

“Round seven?” She asked. 

“Date,” he corrected. “Go out, have dinner, take you home, do it often enough to be called dating…”

Hermione frowned and looked up at him, “You… you want to date me?”

“Da,” he said easily. “Was not obvious? Have been dating all this time. Am not used to letting beautiful women go. Is foolish.”

Hermione smiled, “You have a very interesting definition of foolish.”

“Are…. comfortable, yes? Together? No harm in seeking more.”

She nodded, she supposed not. After all, wasn’t that how she and Harry had gotten started? Comfortable into more and more… it hadn’t been her to pull on the reigns, but his ambition and his need to please other people. He never loved her enough to include her in the plans…

Perhaps he never loved himself enough either. 

She looked up at Viktor. Viktor, who had made it very clear how interesting and exhilarating, how attractive, he found her in all of her intricacies….Viktor was a man who had everything except the relationship he wanted. 

“And if it doesn’t work out?” Hermione asked. 

Viktor grinned, “Hope I have not been foolish enough that you avoid me at parties.”

Hermione blinked and she laughed, hard and shaking against him, caught off guard by his humor as he ate another cookie and she nodded. 

“Okay.”

Viktor nodded, “You will not regret?”

“No,” she said. “I don’t regret people.”

Viktor smiled, “You say this, but you may change mind. In good way.”

“In a good way?”

“You may regret being sore--athletic sex, yes?”

Hermione snorted, “I think if that happens, we’ll both regret it, but so long as we get a sex swing sooner rather than later, we should be okay to continue our normal lives and still keep a decent sex schedule.”

Viktor sputtered, flushed and laughed, his deep voice echoing through the room. She grinned leaning into him comfortably and nodding with resolve. She didn’t regret Harry, no matter how much it hurt. She didn’t regret any of her relationships, no matter how much they hurt… and she wouldn’t regret this one either. 

Her lips twitched, “Any chance I could get that second round?”

He smirked and set the plate aside before kissing her, “Not have to ask.”


End file.
